Frozen Rain
by jewelmonkey
Summary: GrayxLuvia. It's Juvia's first mission for Fairy Tail since joining the guild, and who else to accompany her but Gray himself? Unrequited love on Juvia's part while Gray remains oblivious.


**Frozen Rain.**  
><em>Fairy Tail : GrayJuvia_

It has been exactly two days since Juvia Loxar became an official member of Fairy Tail. The guild's mark still tingled on her left thigh, where it was branded by Kana. It gave her joy whenever she looked at the symbol, for it was a public declaration that she a part of the (in)famous guild.

Fairy Tail wasn't what she expected. It was better.

The guild's members were a lively bunch, always having fun and finding something to laugh about. There was the occasional fight over missions or difference in personalities, but overall, Fairy Tail was strangely peaceful.

Juvia glanced around the room, looking for a particular person. When she spotted a mess of black hair and bare skin across the room, a blush bloomed across her cheeks.

Gray Fullbuster. He was one of the main reasons why she joined Fairy Tail in the first place. After their fight together on top of the Phantom guild's roof, Juvia believed he was somewhat of her savior. He managed to get rid of the gloomy rain clouds, forcing up clear skies instead. Not to mention how he had saved her from tumbling over the rooftop. Ever since that fateful day, she's been infatuated.

"Juvia? Are you going on a job today?", Mirajane asked with a bright smile across the counter. Juvia blinked and turned her attention from Gray to the white-haired girl, drinking in the other's beauty.

"Oh.. Juvia isn't sure. This will be her first time on a job for Fairy Tail... Is it different from other guilds?", Juvia asked, tilting her head slightly.

"Not that I know of", Mirajane mused, tapping her bottom lip with a finger. "All you have to do is grab a poster from the bulletin board and head out. Once you complete it, you'll be able to get paid from the client. If you fail, you have to return the poster and tack it back onto the board for someone else to complete it. If you die, then one of our scouts will know and report back. Has anyone told you about the second floor?"

"Yes", Juvia nodded eagerly, happy to show that she at least knew some of the workings of Fairy Tail. "Master told Juvia yesterday that the second floor is off-limits and the jobs up there are only for S-Class mages."

"Yup, those are usually assassination requests and the like. These here-", she swept a hand towards the large board on her left, "-rank from easy to hard. You can take your pick."

Juvia hesitated, eyeing the board with worried eyes. What if she failed in her first mission? That would leave a negative mark on Fairy Tail's reputation. She just joined! She couldn't possibly make a mistake-

"Master told me to watch after you for a while. Just so you get how things run around here."

Juvia jumped at the intrusion of a deep familiar voice. Turning sharply, she came face-to-face with Gray. He looked almost bored as he nodded towards the board.

"We'll start with something easy. That way you can find the pace you want to work with."

"That's a good idea, Gray!", Mirajane smiled, clapping her hands together. Her eyes shone brightly like sparkling gems. "You and Juvia will be a great team I bet. Once you finish, I'll treat you guys to something nice."

Gray grinned back at her and gestured towards the large bottles on the shelf behind Mirajane. "Maybe you can bring out those drinks in the back for once."

As Mirajane declined playfully, both she and Gray failed to notice how flushed Juvia was. A job together with Gray was a dream come true for the water-mage. Could it be considered a date?

At the very thought, Juvia let out a squeal and collapsed to the ground.

"Juvia! Are you alright?", Mirajane gasped, leaning over the counter to get a better view of her friend.

Crouching down with a troubled look, Gray nudged her lifeless body and muttered, "What's wrong with you?"

* * *

><p>"So how do you like the guild?", Gray asked nonchalantly, walking down a dirt path with his hands in his pockets. The scenery around them was nothing extravagant, just an endless field that stretched for miles.<p>

Juvia was beside him, trying her best to match his steps. "I love Fairy Tail!"

"Yeah?", Gray lifted an eyebrow and glanced sideways at her. "You've only been in the guild for a couple of days now.. Kinda early to love it, isn't it?"

Juvia blinked her cat-like eyes up at him. "It's not. Juvia knows that every member of the guild treasures Fairy Tail like a family. Juvia wants to be a part of that too."

Unsure of what to say, Gray scratched the back of his head sheepishly. He didn't want to admit it, but he still felt a little iffy about Juvia being in Fairy Tail. It wasn't exactly /her/ that he had a problem with, but the fact that Gajeel had joined at the same time. Juvia was one thing, but Gajeel... They were both once a part of Phantom. She couldn't be a traitor, could she? A spy with ulterior motives?

He looked over at her. She was too busy looking down at their job's poster to notice. Her brow was furrowed, almost in determination. He inwardly sighed. Well... maybe this was her chance to start a new life. In Fairy Tail.

However, there was still the matter of her choice of luggage. It bothered Gray to no end.

"Anyways, I just don't understand why you're carrying that huge thing", he said before jabbing a thumb towards the bag on his back. "You need to learn how to pack like me."

Offended by this, Juvia gawked before holding onto the strap of her bulky messenger bag. As she shifted her weight, the items within clinked and clattered. "Juvia brought alot of essentials that will help on our job!"

Gray blew a sigh, lifting his bangs momentarily. "Whatever."

Juvia's lower lip stuck out in a slight pout as she looked down at her bag. Since this was her very first mission, she took extra care in packing. Who knows how long they would stay out for this gig; it could take days. She had packed extra clothing and hygiene products for daily use, and since she was with Gray, she cooked and organized bento boxes for the two of them.

The black-haired man was unaware of Juvia's sudden depression and continued towards their destination.

* * *

><p>The Fairy Tale mages stared up at the huge building in unison. From time and time again, Fairy Tail gets clients from a rich or noble family. However, those jobs are usually reserved for S-Rank mages. Regular missions are normally requested from the middle and poor class of society.<p>

Gray blew a low whistle and smirked, "Looks like our payment will be high today!"

Juvia looked down at the poster once more and murmured thoughtfully, "The prize is not written down..."

"Yeah, I checked with the 'acceptance of orders' book before leaving. There was a prize. It's just in a range. Some missions are like that. It depends completely on how well we carry out our job. The more a customer is satisfied, the more we get."

Juvia nodded with vigor, clinging onto Gray's every word. "Juvia gets it now!"

"Let's meet with the commissioner", he grinned, leading the way up the large steps towards the front doors.

Within the next hour, they met with the client. It was a fairly large man with an even bigger mustache. He claimed himself to be the mayor of the entire city, though neither Gray nor Juvia doubted this fact. From the exquisite interior designs of the mansion, that piece of information fit quite well.

His name was Sir Gaterbolt and seemed like a well-mannered and polite gentleman. His job required the mages to exterminate some monsters that has been vandalizing the city as of late. The price of payment hadn't been discussed, though there had been a hint that it was 'rich'. That was enough of a persuasion for Gray.

They ended up renting a room in a small motel near the outskirts of town.

Tossing his bag onto one of the beds, Gray turned towards Juvia. "There's no use staying in this room any longer than we need to. We know our objective, so let's go. The quicker we get this done, the faster we get back to the guild."

Hearing the impatience in Gray's voice, Juvia shrunk into herself a bit. Was Gray already tired of being with her?

Rummaging into her bag, her fingers brushed against an assortment of things. "Ah, but Juvia thinks we should have a bite to eat before we leave. We've been journeying on an empty stomach-"

"You mean you have food in that bag of yours?", Gray asked incredulously. At Juvia's quick nod, he slapped a hand to his forehead and sighed through gritted teeth. "Fine.. Just a quick bite."

Juvia beamed and became more fervent in the search for the lunchboxes she had made. Regretting that she packed so much stuff, she gingerly pulled out two pink bento boxes from the bottom of her bag with difficulty. Out of habit, Gray shrugged off his white jacket and sat cross-legged on his bed, the Fairy Tail slogan gleaming brightly on his chest.

Reddening at the thought of how Gray will react, Juvia opened the boxes and placed one infront of Gray. Learning from past experience, she kept the design simple. From spying on Gray for such a long time, she knew of the food he liked and made sure to include those in the bento.

"Looks pretty neat", Gray appraised, reaching forward to get silverware before digging right in. Juvia paused while chewing on a riceball to watch him eat. This moment felt different than the other times she was in Gray's company. Having Gray eat something that she had made was amazing in itself, but... being able to spend time like this, by simply eating together, felt like such a special moment.

A smile creeped onto her face that didn't go unnoticed by Gray. He did a double-take and darted her a strange look in-between bites of food, as if to ask 'What the hell are you looking at?'

"How.. How is it?", she asked timidly, twirling her chopsticks against the lunchbox shyly.

Gray swallowed a large lump of meat before answering, "Good, I suppose. Tastes like normal."

As Gray accepted a can of soda from Juvia, she couldn't help but hold back a disappointed sigh. She had hoped he would compliment her on her cooking, but she supposed him eating it was enough.

* * *

><p>Juvia sighed long and hard, pulling the ends of her hair in frustration. She and Gray had seperated to look for these tyrants.<p>

"_If we split up, we'll cover more ground and find these sneaky bastards_", Gray had said before heading towards the west side of the city.

Juvia only accepted because it was Gray who had insinuated the plan. The thought of going alone wasn't so appealing. It reminded her of the old days, when she had nobody else around.

She shook her head from side to side to get a grip. She was part of Fairy Tail now! She was in a guild that treasured each of its members. She wasn't alone anymore.

With a new drive burning within, she marched through a marketplace, keeping both eyes peeled for a sign of these monsters.

Juvia wasn't sure how they looked like. Sir Gaterbolt had only described them as 'thieving' and 'trouble-making'. She nor Gray had any physical appearance to go on. They expected the monsters to be.. well, monsters. It wasn't unheard of for ogres to trash villages as they ventured towards the mountains. Juvia rememberd that she once had a mission to eliminate a whole pack of ogres when she was still recruited in Phantom.

She stopped to talk with as many people as she could. The jewelry store owner had no idea what she was talking about whereas the child chasing a chicken excitedly told her of the time where he encountered a small green goblin. They were both false leads and didn't help at all.

All of her efforts were fruitless. It was nearing night-time and she didn't discover one valuable piece of information that could be of use. Wondering on whether or not Gray had found the monsters and eliminated them, she walked back towards the edge of town to where the motel was located.

On her way, she had to pass through a dense wood. As she eyed the darkness and towering trees hovering over her, she didn't realize how scary it had been earlier with Gray. Once again, she felt vulnerable with the lack of company. Missing Gray every second of the way, she trudged on, stepping on brambles and crumbling leaves.

She couldn't quite place it, but she felt as if a pair of eyes were pinned on her. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw nothing but the trail she left through the woods. Feeling uneasy, she quickened her pace and tried to find a way out. Soon enough, Juvia could spy an opening through the foliage and an archway of a few large trees across from her. Smiling in relief, she headed towards it, only to feel something snag at her shirt. It caused her to fall and she landed painfully on the muddy floor with a yelp.

Something dark and ominous stood over her fallen body. Whatever it was had a stout physique with radiant crimson eyes. It took a slow rattling breath, drawing in air through its jagged teeth. Juvia's eyes widened to the size of saucers as she scrambled to her feet, summoning water to the palm of her hand in the process.

"Water Slicer!", she gasped, feeling herself turn into a liquid substance as blades of water flung themselves towards her opponent. With great agility, the alien creature dodged every swipe.

Juvia couldn't believe her eyes as it avoided the last blade and barreled into her stomach. The creature had chosen the exact second when Juvia transformed her body back into human-form to attack. As Juvia was thrown backwards against a large tree, a strangled cry escaped her throat.

Breathing hard while on the brink of fainting, her eyes flicked upwards at the creature. It was inches from her face and she could see it clearly now without the darkness' cloak. Its skin looked almost scaly and the edges of its mouth curled upwards into a horrid smile, showing off large fangs that were stained with blood. With horror, she realized it was her blood dribbling from its chin.

It looked like the very devil itself. Finally her eyes fluttered closed, falling into a state of unconsciousness.

* * *

><p>Juvia awoke to the sound of running water. Groaning lightly, she opened her eyes. It took her a couple of minutes to focus, for a migraine forced her eyes to blur. The first thing she saw was the ceiling, but when she turned to the left, she spotted Gray's bag sitting on one of the beds. She concluded that she must be back in the motel, but the question was: Who took her there?<p>

Remembering the strange creature, she pulled herself up into a sitting position. Gripped by pain, she let out a low moan as she massaged her shoulder. That's when she realized that part of her body was bandaged. Looking down, her hands ran across a strip of white cloth that was wounded tightly around her right arm. Lifting her half-torn shirt, she saw that there was even one on her stomach, which confused her. Did she get alot more damage than she thought?

Letting her legs fall over the bed, she let herself stand. She still felt weak, but otherwise, in good shape. She walked over to the window and pulled the lacy curtains aside. It was dark outside; night had officially arrived. She wondered vaguely how long she was sleeping.

As she mused over her thoughts and stared out to where the wood and the city was visible, she didn't hear the water stop running in the bathroom. A few minutes later, Gray stepped out wearing nothing but his boxers. He had a towel wrapped around his neck, but when he saw Juvia standing near the window, he paused near the bathroom doorway.

"Oi, you should get some more rest."

Startled by the sudden voice, Juvia turned to Gray with an expression torn between happiness, embarrassment and surprise. "Gray! Were you the one who... saved me?"

He ruffled his hair to dry it off as he sat on the edge of his own bed. "Yeah. I was heading back here when I saw you get attacked. I barely made it in time. Don't worry about talking with the client either. I already took care of it earlier."

As if to further prove his point, he dug out a large pouch from his bag and tossed it on Juvia's bed. He pointed at it. "That's your share. We can head back home tomorrow morning."

"Oh!", Juvia appeared flustered as she handled the pouch carefully in her hands. Despite its appearance, it weighed alot. She could only guess how much coins were in it. "This would mean you defeated the monster that attacked me."

Her voice was low, but Gray seemed to have heard her because he dryly responded with, "There was more than one that attacked you."

"What?"

"Yeah. Seems like those guys had the power of illusion, which is why they lived in the woods. The reason why they attacked the village was due to violation of their environment. Sir Gaterbolt expanded the city recently."

Juvia grew silent, absorbing all of this new information. It seemed reasonable. No wonder the monsters started attacking the community. It was all in order to protect their living space. The woods itself seemed unusually small to Juvia when she passed through them. Now she understood why.

Gray watched her as she fell into a contemplative silence before he broke it with a huff. "Well, the city doesn't have to worry about them anymore. I destroyed them all with my ice."

A splash of color spread across her cheeks as she stared back with obvious admiration. "Gray is very cool! Juvia is sorry for not being much hel-"

"Forget it", Gray dismissed with a wave of his hand. He threw the towel from his neck towards the far wall before plopping down onto his bed. With his face burrowed into a pillow, he said inaudibly, "I'm tired, let's stop talking."

Juvia smiled gratefully before dropping her eyes back down to the payment. She felt undeserving of it somehow. Squeezing the suede fabric, she shoved the pouch into the corner of her bag before following Gray's example and rolled onto her own bed.

* * *

><p>It was past eight in the morning when Juvia and Gray headed back towards the guild. They were travelling down the dirt road through the countryside when it started to drizzle.<p>

Feeling the small droplets trickle down his cheek, Gray looked up at the sky. It was a grayish-blue with low and thin clouds, a sign of an impending storm.

"Juvia's not doing this!", Juvia said swiftly in her hysteria. Her face became troubled as she looked up at the rain clouds with worry. The rain came down harder now, its drops becoming sharp and a bit painful.

"I'm not blaming you", Gray pointed out as he began to undress.

Juvia blushed brightly at this and stuttered through her words, "G-Gray shouldn't take off his clothes! You might catch a cold!"

"I need cover", he replied simply, shrugging off his jacket and raising it above his head. Juvia blew a small sigh of relief when she saw that he left his black shirt on. As if noticing her for the first time, he turned to her. "Do you want to get closer?"

At his words, Juvia's eyes nearly bulged out of her head. Alot of perverse scenes replayed in her mind, most of them inappropriate. A hot surge of heat travelled from the base of her spine up to her brow before she fainted.

* * *

><p>When she came to, she realized that Gray carried her to a shelter at a train station. It was completely empty asides from them.<p>

Juvia was propped up against the wall while Gray sat on the bench, patiently waiting for her to gather her senses.

Realizing the predicament, Juvia looked down in shame. "Juvia is very sorry for causing you trouble."

"It's no big deal, but how many times are you going to faint today?", Gray asked, though his tone held no harshness. He glanced towards the sky, frowning at how it had turned completely dark with lightning striking down at a distance. "The storm is closer to the guild than we are."

Juvia soon joined him on the bench, sitting closer than what should be considered comfortable. Glaring miserably at the rain scattering at their feet, she said coldly, "Juvia hates the rain."

Gray surveyed her with slight surprise. "You're made of water, aren't you? You're one in the same."

Shock replaced Juvia's contempt as her heart shattered. One in the same? Gray might not have realized what his words had done, but the damaged was already taken.

Before she knew it, she jumped to her feet and shouted, "No! Juvia is not depressing like the rain!"

"Depressing?", Gray repeated, looking immensely surprised and weirded out from her sudden explosion. "What are you talking about?"

Juvia could feel the tears leaking from her eyes as she covered her face with her hands. "Juvia is different now! Juvia is no longer depressing! Rain is not apart of her anymore! She hates this rain.. It brings back sad memories..."

The rest of her words were drowned out by her cries. Fed up with Juvia's emotional burst, Gray stood up and walked out from beneathe the shelter roof. Rain greeted him immediately, drenching his entire body within seconds.

"If you don't like this rain so much, just get rid of it", he snapped back at her. Juvia peered at him from over her hands.

"Gray?"

"I don't know what you're talking about with all this depression shit, but..", he placed his left fist on top of his right palm and aimed towards the sky. "Ice-Make Lance!"

His trademark magic burst forth from his hands and shot upwards towards the sky like a roaring dragon. Juvia stared in shock as the ice pierced through the darkness and disappeared behind the clouds.

Nothing seemed to happen, until Juvia saw it. Instead of rain, it was snowflakes that fell from the sky like soft cottonballs.

Curious whether her eyes were deceiving her, Juvia stepped forward next to Gray and held out a hand. There was no mistake. It was snow that was falling in rain's stead. The flakes dispersed and melted the moment they made contact with her skin.

No matter how much she was used to Gray's power, she still became entranced. Perhaps it was partially due to her obsession with him, she wasn't quite so sure. Everything about Gray, from the way he dressed (or lack of) to the way he spoke was mesmerizing.

Gray tilted his head over his shoulder to give her a confident smile. "Are you feeling better now?"

Their eyes met. Juvia drunk in Gray's appearance. He was completely drenched from head to toe. His shirt and pants clung to his toned body while water dripped from the tips of his hair. Looking at him like this, and Juvia knew instantly. She was deeply in love with this man and nothing could ever change that.

* * *

><p>"Gray! Gray's back!"<p>

"Welcome back you two! How was the job?"

"Ha ha! You guys must've been caught in the rain! You look like drowned rats!"

Everyone in the guild welcomed them warmly as they entered through the doors, leaving a trail of water behind them. Gray, half-naked, headed straight for the bar to grab a drink. When Mirajane had asked why he was shirtless, he simply replied that his clothes needed drying.

Juvia, on the other hand, left the guild shortly after to head back to Fairy Hills, the girls' dormitory.

Once she was safely in her room in her pajamas, curled up on her bed after a long hot shower, she thought about her first mission. The image of Gray's smile swam up to the front of Juvia's memory. Her face instantly burned up.

"Gray...", she whispered, nuzzling against her comforter lovingly. How could someone so amazing be brought into her life? Her goal is to win his heart, no matter what it takes. Even if it meant defeating her love-rivals such as Lucy and the other women in Fairy Tail!

She decided to test out the words that she would say to him one day.

Flipping onto her back, she looked at nothing in particular as she spoke with a certain preciseness.

"I love you, Gray."

**-end-**

* * *

><p><strong>Please read &amp; review~<strong>

I apologize if the characters seem a bit OOC. This is my first Fairy Tail fiction so I'm still kinda iffy with writing for the characters. This is just a fun little story I made up on the spot since I like Gray/Juvia. :D


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